Ed x Winry
by AtemsGirl15
Summary: Winry is all alone and slightly depressed and alone, when he knocks on her door for another repair. She starts to show her feelings for him and he is still clueless. Will she ever get through that thick skull of his? This is one of my first fanficion.
1. His Return

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA!!

Chapter One

His Return

Winry sat alone in her house working on some random automail arm. The only one to keep her company was her dear dog, Den. Her Grandma was dead. She had died about a year ago. Her mind drifted to the last two members of her family who was probably miles away. Edward Elric, the older of the two brothers, was probably twenty-two years old. He had long golden hair that was usually in a plait braid with bangs hanging in his face. He had fierce golden eyes to match his hair that looked into the distance.

Edward was short for his age, but since Winry hadn't seen him for six years, she didn't know if his height had changed. Edward was missing his right arm and left leg. Winry felt the only way she could help the two boys was making Edward his automail arm and leg. Edward was a child protégé, a pure alchemy genius. He became a state alchemist at a very young age.

Alphonse Elric was the younger brother. He was an empty suit of armor and like his brother, an alchemist. Alphonse was the opposite of his older brother in many ways, one being their personality. Alphonse was kind and caring no matter what. Edward was tough on the out side and soft on the inside. Alphonse expressed his feelings while Edward hid them from everybody but Alphonse.

Winry wonder where they were and if they were ok while she worked. She was worried about them. Winry whipped the sweat off of her forehead and on to her arm. She looked around at the empty room she was in. Things were sure quieter without her grandma. Even though she had Den and many friends living in her hometown, she felt alone.

Suddenly, there was a knock her front door. Winry starred at it until there was another knock. Winry walked over to the door and opened it, half expecting to see one of her regular costumers. But instead of a regular, she saw him. Edward Elric was standing outside her door wearing a guilty grin on his face. Winry looked around and didn't see Alphonse anywhere behind him. Her eyes shifted to Edward and she glared at him.

"Hey, Winry long time no-" Winry's slamming of the door cut off Edward.

Winry walked back to her table and picked up her wrench. Edward's shouts rang through the front door. "Come on, Winry", Edward yelled. "Open the door!!" Winry walked back to the door and waited for Edward to apologize to her. "Please open the door!!" Winry sighed and opened the door. She knew Edward wasn't going to apologize to her until he had told her she was hurt.

As soon as the door was open, Winry raised the arm that held her wrench and flung it at Edward. The wrench hit Edward squarely in the forehead. Edward fell backward and yelled in pain. He sat up holding his forehead. "WINRY?! WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR", yelled Edward.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE LAST SIX YEARS EDWARD ELRIC", shouted Winry. "And where is Al?!"

"Al is back at central", replied Edward as he stood up. "He's fine! Honestly!"

"Ok… But where have you been in the last six years?!"

Edward looked away from Winry. Winry tensed. She knew that he wasn't going to tell him. Winry raised her wrench and brought it down on top of Edward's head. Edward landed face first on to the ground. Winry turned around and walked up to her room. She locked the door. Winry jumped on top of her bed and buried her face into her pillow. She began wonder why does she even worry about him anymore if he wasn't even going to let her into his life.

Winry heard a knock on the door and Edward's voice once again rang through the door. "Come on, Winry", he shouted. "Can't we talk about this?! I'm sorry I didn't come to see you in six years."

"Shut up", Winry yelled back. "What did you come here for anyway. Another automail repair?! Is that all I am to you anymore?! A mechanic?!"

"Well, yes that is why I'm here, but you're more to me than just my mechanic, Winry!! You know that!! I'm really sorry!!"

There was a flash of light and Edward walked into Winry's room. Winry sat up in her bed as he approached. She glared at him. Edward stopped a few feet away. Tears filled Winry's eyes, but she fought them back and tried to sound calm when she spoke. "It's an invasion of privacy when you transmute someone's lock to open their bedroom door", Winry snapped.

"That's weird coming from you, Miss. Pocket Watch", retorted Edward. "Where's Auntie?"

"She died… about a year ago…"

"You've been alone?"

"Yeah, well, except Den of course…"

"Of course… Look Winry, why didn't you tell me?! Al and I would have visited sooner!"

"Yeah, but you wouldn't have stayed, would you?!" Winry stood up, tears streaming out of her eyes. Edward backed away slightly.

"Winry, you know we can't do that", replied Edward. "We have to get our original bodies."

Winry walked closer to Edward, but this time he didn't back away. Instead he closed his eyes and braced himself for getting hit again. Winry stopped a few centimeters away and noticed for the first time that in her life that she had to look up at Edward. Even though it was only by a few inches, Edward was finally taller than Winry. "I've missed you", whispered Winry as she fell against him and held on to him tightly to make sure that he was really there.

"Winry…", gasped Edward. Edward wrapped on arm around Winry and gently rubbed her back. Winry cried gently into his chest while talking in his smell.

When Winry parted from him, she whipped away her tears and asked, "What's a matter this time?"

"Well…", answered Edward. That's when Winry noticed it.

Edward's right coat sleeve was dangling lifelessly at his side. Anger grew inside Winry. "Ed-ward", she muttered through gritted teeth. Her voice was shacking with anger but she remand still. "What happened to your arm?!"

"Wait a minute Winry", pleaded Edward as he raised his left hand as if to say he surrendered. Winry picked up her wrench and started to sling it at him. Edward dodged her blows as he spoke. "This isn't my fault! Major Armstrong greeted us at the train station! When he saw us, he picked me up and hugged me as tight as he could, crushing my arm in the process! I wasn't in danger or anything and I wasn't being reckless! It was the Major's fault! You can call him up and ask him!"

Winry stopped and glared at him. She was breathing heavily as she watched Edward back himself into the wall. She walked up to him and said, "I will." With that she walked out of the room and to the worktable where she sat earlier. She looked down on at the arm she was working on realized that it was Edward's arm. Winry couldn't believe it. She had been subconsciously working on his arm without even realizing it. It looked as if it were almost finished.

Winry looked around the room to see if Edward had left her's. He was standing at the couch, taking off his red coat and black jacket. He folded them and rested them on the back of the couch. Winry walked over to Edward as he sat down on the couch. He looked up at her with an apologetic look on his face. Winry kneeled down and took of his boots to see how much taller he had got since the last time they saw each other.

There was about a five-inch difference between his right leg and his left leg. Winry looked up at Edward and scoffed. "Well, I guess I can't call you short anymore", Winry said as she looked back down at his feet.

"Hey, don't call me short", snapped Edward. Edward hated it when someone mocked his height. Winry laughed at him.

"That's a comment, Ed", she laughed. "I was just saying that you've grown is all. You're taller than me. I can't believe I have to look up at you now."

"You really think I've gotten taller", shouted Edward in excitement.

"Considering the fact that you left leg is five inches short than your right, yeah. I seriously need to do some height adjustments. You don't mind using a spare for a while do you, Ed?"

"No", said Edward blankly.

Winry stood up to let Edward take off his pants so that she could detach his leg. Winry went to the table and picked up a measuring tape. She went back to Edward, who was folding his pants and placing them on the back of the couch. Edward sat back down on the couch and Winry measured his right leg and left arm.

Winry went to the cupboard when she was finished measuring and grabbed a spare left leg and walked back to him on the couch. She kneeled down and began to detach Edward's leg. When Winry was finished she attached the spare to Edward's thigh. Winry put the leg on the table with the arm she had already started. Winry looked back at Edward, who was standing and trying out his spare.

Winry smiled at him. She had forgotten until now that she was in love with Edward. Winry sat down and started to finish Edward's arm. Winry worked for the rest of the day. When she paused to take a break, she found that Edward wasn't in the room. She went out to the porch and found him waking back to the house. Edward stopped and looked up at her. A smirk appeared on his face and he scoffed. He walked up to the porch and muttered, "No matter how hard I tried, I still turned out like my father."

"What are you talking about, Ed", Winry asked.

"I left my family behind just like my dad. I even met someone who said that I looked almost exactly like him. I guess it is inevitable. I leave and someone dear to me dies."

"Ed… It wasn't your fault that Grandma died! She just got old and died! You had nothing to do with it!"

"Yeah, but Al and I should have been there for you!"

Edward stood quietly for a second and then walked back inside while muttering, "Never mind… Forget it…" Winry watched as he threw himself on to the couch. Winry walked back to her table and sat back down. She looked back at Edward. He was lying down on the couch with his eyes closed. Winry sighed through her nose and looked back at Edward's arm. She was almost finished with it. It would be ready by to night and then she would start to work on the leg.

As she had predicted, Winry was finished with Edward's arm late that night. She whipped the sweat off of her forehead. Winry stood up and walked over to the couch. Edward was asleep. He had his stomach hanging out of his stomach. Winry hated to wake him up but she could let him sleep on the couch. Winry gritted her teeth and gently shook Edward up. Edward's eyes slowly opened his eyes and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at Winry.

"What's up Winry", yawned Edward.

"I finished with your arm, so I'm going to bed", said Winry.

"You woke me up to tell me that", asked Edward.

"No! I woke you up to tell you that you can't sleep out here! I wanted you to sleep in a bed but if you want to sleep in an uncomfortable couch, then fine! Good night!" Winry turned to go to her bedroom as she said this.

"A bed… That does sound better than a couch", she heard Edward say. She looked back at Edward. He was standing, waiting for her to lead him to his room. Winry walked up stairs with Edward right behind her. He was silent. Winry wanted to break the silence to object to what he had said to her earlier, but she didn't know what to say. She stopped in front of the room Edward would be staying at and opened the door. Winry let Edward inside.

"Good night", yawned Edward.

"You're wrong", muttered Winry.

"Huh… What are you talking about?"

"You're not completely like your dad. I mean… at least you came back… You and Al didn't ditch my grandma and I. And you promised you would be back when you got your bodies back to normal."

"Winry…"

"See you're different, Ed! So stop putting yourself down!"

"Winry…" Winry starred Edward. Edward just scoffed and smirked. "…Thanks, Winry…" He pulled her into a hug and held her with his only arm. "I needed that…" Edward soon let go of her. "Night Winry…"

"Good night Ed", said Winry. Winry turned and walked to her own room. She jumped on her bed and buried her face into her pillow, grinning to herself. Winry soon after drifted off to sleep.

Winry was woken up by the morning light the next morning. She quickly changed her clothes and went to the kitchen to make some breakfast. She ate it quietly, wondering whether or not Edward was awake yet. When she sat at her worktable, Edward came walking down the stairs. He said good morning to her and went to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast.

The day went on like the one before. Fast. Winry was finished around lunchtime. Winry wanted to attach Edward's arm and leg as soon as possible so that Edward won't have to wait much longer. But Edward didn't want his appetite ruined by the pain of the attachment of the nerves. So, they ate silently.

Edward was in nothing but his under wear and sitting on the operating table when they were finished with lunch. Winry brought over his new arm and prepared it for the attachment. When the arm was ready, Winry attached the arm.

Edward grunted with pain and Winry's heart jerked as she heard the man she loved was in pain. Winry quickly finished the adjustments to his arm and brought his leg over. She detached the spare on his leg and prepared his leg for the attachment. When she was done with that, Winry attached his leg and he grunted in pain. Winry's heart jerked again and she quickly finished the adjustments.

Winry helped Edward move to the couch and let him rest for a while. She began to put her equipment away. Edward sat up and watched her intently. When she was finished she sat beside Edward and said, "Aren't you going to try them out?"

"With how? Al's not here", Edward stupidly pointed out.

"Whose fault is that?!"

"Oh… Be quiet…" Edward stood up and stretched his arms and legs. "They're great, as always, Winry! You make the best automail in the world!"

"Oh, stop", replied Winry with excitement. Her face grew red. Edward looked back at her and scoffed.

Winry made dinner for the two of them later on in the day. They laughed and talked as they ate. They talked a little afterwards before they went to bed. Winry was a little sad. Edward was leaving in the morning and there was nothing that she could do to stop him. She really enjoyed the alone time she spent with Edward.

Winry had this bad feeling eat away at her. She felt like Edward wasn't going to come back after he leaves tomorrow. She was worried. The feeling wouldn't let her sleep for hours. When Winry finally fell into an uneasy sleep, it was filled with dreams about Edward not coming back to see her again.

She woke up early the next morning, with an idea. She quickly got dressed and pulled out her favorite earring. She walked out of her room and found Edward getting ready to leave. Edward looked back at her at the sound of her door closing.

"Morning Winry", grinned Edward.

"Morning Ed", she said. "Hey Ed. Can I give you something?"

"Give me something? What?"

"M-mm!" Winry held out her earring. "This is my favorite earring. It would make me very happy if you wore it."

"WHAT?! WHY?!" Edward jumped back in shock. Winry averted her eyes to the floor. She knew he would take it this way.

"Please, Ed… It's insurance that you won't forget me and have another reason to come home safely. This way a piece of me will be with you on your journey and give you luck."

"Winry…"

"Please, Ed… It's just that, last night I got this weird feeling that I wasn't going to see you again."

"So, you're saying that you don't trust me…"

"NO! It's nothing like that… It's more like you won't be able to come back… Like something were to happen to you, Ed… It scared me…"

Winry and Edward were silent for a moment and then, "I guess it'll be ok… It's just an earring, right?" Winry looked up at Edward who was giving her a reassuring smile. Winry felt tears fill her eyes and she fought them back. She walked over to Edward and had him sit down at the worktable. Winry quickly pierced his ear and put the earring in his earlobe. Edward grunted in pain as she punctured his ear. He lifted his left hand to his left ear and a little blood.

Winry carefully whipped the blood away. Edward scoffed. "Do you feel better now, Winry?"

"Yeah… But just remember that you're borrowing it! I want it back as soon as you come home with both your bodies back to normal, ok?! And promise you'll never take it off, no matter what!"

Edward looked back at her with his eyes opened wide. Then his face softened and he smiled at her. "Yeah!" Edward got up and grabbed his suitcase and walked to the door. Winry walked with him. Edward stopped as soon as he reached the dirt road and looked back. "Well, goodbye Winry. I promise I'll be back."

"You better be", said Winry. "Just be careful, Ed."

Edward nodded and turned to leave. When Edward was out of sight, Winry turned around and went inside. She already missed Edward. She wished he could have stayed longer, but…

"But Edward needs to do what he thinks is right", muttered Winry.


	2. The Truth

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA!!

The Truth

Edward Elric sat in his train seat starring out at the scenery quickly passing them by as his train headed for Central. The sun was setting on another beautiful day. Edward should have been coming up with a plan to get the philosopher's stone from the homunculus so that they can use to get Alphonse's body back and his arm and leg back. What Edward was thinking about was Winry and what she had done to him. If she wanted to leave an impression on him, she had definitely succeeded. Edward didn't know what to think about it.

He lifted his hand and lightly held on to the earring. In away, Edward was kind of happy. He was entirely sure why, but he was. But at the same time, he was upset. Edward didn't want to get his ear pierced. He thought that it was wrong for boys to get their ears pierced. He thought that it was more of a girl thing than a boy thing. Edward sighed through his nose.

"Stupid, Winry", Edward muttered. "One minute, she says that I'm nothing like my dad and the next she acts like I'm going to ditch her. Jeez… How's an earring going to help me anyway?" Edward paused for a moment and thought back on what Winry had said to him about her worries. "She acted as if she thought I was going to die on her. As if! I don't die that easily! But still…" Edward was wondering why she would ever think such a thing like that. He didn't die when he and Alphonse transmuted their mother, he didn't die when Scar blew his arm off, or when Gluttany swallowed him.

It was getting darker outside. By the time he got to Central, it was almost eight at night. Edward jumped out of the train. He was ready to achieve their goal more now than ever. The faster they got their bodies back to normal, the fast they could get their lives back to normal. He went into the lobby where people were buying their tickets or waiting for friends or family to pick them up. Edward looked around and spot the giant suit of armor that he knew as his younger brother.

"Yo, Alphonse", called Edward as he waved his hand to get Alphonse's attention. Alphonse spotted him and ran to him.

"Ed", called Alphonse. "How's your new arm and leg… and what's with the earring?"

"Huh… Oh, this." Edward held it up a little with his thumb so that Alphonse could see it better. "Yeah, Winry gave it to me."

"You got your ear pierced, Brother?! Why?!"

"It was either have it dangling from ear or see Winry cry and get beaten to a pulp. Besides Al, it's just an ear. It's not like it's against the law for boys to have their ears pierced."

"But you look weird-"

"IF YOU'RE GOING TO COMPLAIN, GO TO WINRY", roared Edward.

"And what will Teacher think", replied Alphonse.

Edward stopped dead in his tracks. What would their former teacher say if she found out that Edward did something trashy like get his ears pierced? He didn't know. A shiver ran up his spine and Edward shook his head fiercely as if to put the thought out of his mind. He looked up at Alphonse.

"Ok, Al! Let's go to the homunculus' lair!"

"Right!"

They left the train station and walked down the street. They turned left down another street and right down another. They went right again down an alleyway that was filled with garbage. Beyond the giant pile of trash, there was chain link fence. Beyond that was a dark tunnel. Edward and Alphonse shifted through all the trash to the fence. Edward clapped his hands and transmuted the lock on the door.

Edward opened up the chain link fence door and entered with his younger brother right behind him. The entered the tunnel quietly. Twenty minutes of walking had passed and the discovered that they were in the sewers. There was a passageway that went left up ahead of them. Edward and Alphonse took it and walked on down the tunnel. The tunnel opened up into a big spacious room. It was dark in the room so they couldn't see a thing.

"Hey, Al", whispered Edward. "Didn't you say that there were monsters waiting to attack uninvited intruders. It's not that I want to fight them or anything like that, but it's awfully suspicious."

"They were probably killed, brother", whispered Alphonse.

"You two sure do love to bother other people", called a familiar voice from within the darkness. A boy with long black hair walked up to them. He had his hair tied into a ponytail and had so bangs hanging in his face. His eyes were closed as if to give off the impression that he was carefree and dim witted. "Nice earring by the way, Fullmetal."

"Ling", growled Edward. "Shut up! That's not important right now!"

"I told you before", snapped Ling Yao, "its Greed now. Ling Yao no longer exists. I even got the tattoo to prove it."

Ling showed them the back of his right hand. It had a tattoo on it. The tattoo was snake that formed a circle and was trying to eat it's own tail. Inside the snake circle was a Star of David. "Yeah, yeah. We've already seen the Ouroboros Tattoo", snapped Edward. "But to us, you're still just Ling Yao, Idiot Prince from Xing."

"Shut up", snapped Ling. "What do you want?!"

"We want to use your philosopher's stone to get our bodies back to normal", snapped Edward. "We know the stone is your core. Let us use it like I used Envy's in Gluttony's stomach. Then you won't see either one of us again."

"Tempting offer but I think I'll refuse."

"Please, Ling, we helped you get here and become a homunculi", pleaded Alphonse.

"And I thank you for that. But the answer is still no."

"What if I said this was to help you become immortal", replied Edward. Alphonse starred at his older brother in shock. Ling looked at Edward with a blank expression on his face. "We all know that's what you want." Edward smirked at Ling.

Ling opened his eyes slightly and smirked back at Edward. "When do we start."

Edward took some of Alphonse's chock and drew the mural he saw at the Cselkcess ruins. When he was finished, Edward motion Ling to get in and then looked at Alphonse. "Al, don't come in until I tell you to, ok?" Alphonse nodded. Edward turned to Ling. Edward took a deep breath and clapped his hands and pressed them down onto the mural he had created. A light from the mural illuminated the entire room, but Edward didn't take the time to look around.

Edward looked back at his younger brother and held out his hand. "Al! Come on!" Alphonse grabbed hold of Edward's hand, was pulled in, and didn't let go of his older brother's hand. Edward looked down at the floor in front of him. The was a giant black eye with a red iris underneath him. Thousands of small black hands came out and grabbed him and Alphonse. They were dragged into it.

Edward blinked and he was sitting in a room were the walls, floor, and ceiling were white. He looked around and saw two giant brown doors. He noticed that he was alone. "Al", he called as he stood up. "Alphonse! Alphonse were are you?!"

"Over here brother", called Alphonse's voice. Edward looked back and found naked boy with long hair. The boy looked back and saw his younger brother's face.

Alphonse's face was gaunt and weary looking. His eyes were softer than Edward's and were hazel colored. His long hair was a light brown color. Alphonse's body was just skin and bones. Alphonse stood up and ran to his older brother. He glomped Edward and held him tightly. Edward felt tears well up in his eyes. His younger brother finally got his body back.

"Brother, I'm hungry", Alphonse whispered. Edward laughed.

"I'll tell you what, when we get out of here we'll buy you some clothes and have a feast. But first we get my arm and leg back." Alphonse let go of his brother and aloud him to stand up. Edward looked around the room that seemed endless. And then Edward saw him.

There was a figure in between the two doors. He had no face or body except his right arm and left leg. "The Truth", muttered Edward. "Did you miss me? You must have, since you're wearing my arm and leg!"

"Not really", said the Truth. "What are you doing back here, little boy?"

"I'll over look that short comment and promise not to beat you up if you give me back my arm and leg. I'll also throw in the promise that you'll never see either one of us again."

"Sorry that's not enough… You got more?"

"As a matter of fact, I do", smirked Edward. Edward reached into his pocket and pulled out a small red stone. "I nicked this from Ling. Take it. I believe it's the real philosopher's stone."

Edward chucked the red stone at the Truth. He picked it up and said, "And I'll never see you and your brother again?"

"Yup."

"You got yourself a deal." The Truth snapped his fingers. The door behind Edward and Alphonse opened up and the small black hands grabbed Edward and Alphonse and pulled them into the door. Edward began to yell.

"Hey", he yelled. Edward tried to fight off the hands. "Hey, what about my arm and leg?!"

"Don't worry about them", yelled the Truth back while laughing. "You'll get them!"

The last thing Edward saw of that horrible place was the Truth's ere grin. And then nothing. Edward saw blackness and nothingness. He heard someone from far off call his name. "Edward? Edward?! Edward, wake up!" Edward wanted to but he couldn't. He couldn't move his body. And to make matters worse, it felt like he was slowly falling further down into the darkness. He wanted to wake up, but he couldn't.

Why couldn't he?


	3. His Silence

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA!!

Chapter Three

His Silence

Winry sat in her own private compartment on a train heading for Central. She was filled with worry, hopelessness, lifelessness, and desperation. Worry because a few hours ago, she had gotten a call from Edward's younger brother, Alphonse. He told her that Edward was hospitalized and in a coma. Hopelessness because the man she loved was inches from death and there was nothing she, nor Alphonse, nor anybody else can do about it. Lifelessness because she felt that she would die if Edward died in his lifeless slumber. Desperation because she longer to feel his touch.

Winry felt like she would cry. She was frantically hoping that this was some cruel joke that the two of them were playing on her. She didn't know what to think. Winry kept remembering the promise that Edward had made her the other day. "Edward… Please be ok", Winry muttered.

The train pulled into the station and Winry stepped off it and walked into the lobby, dragging her suitcase behind her. "Winry!!" A brown haired boy that was about the same height as Edward ran to her. He had hazel eyes and a kind face. It was Edward's younger brother Alphonse Elric!

"Al", replied Winry in shock to see him in his body. "Al, is that really you?!"

"Yeah! Brother did it! He got me my body back", replied Alphonse.

"Edward", Winry whispered suddenly. "… Al, tell me it isn't true! Please tell me that Edward isn't in a coma!" Winry grabbed the collar of Alphonse's shirt. "Please, tell me Edward is alright! Please Al! Please!"

Alphonse didn't say anything. Winry felt the tears roll down her face. She dug her head into Alphonse's chest. Winry began to cry. Alphonse wrapped her arms around Winry and held her tightly. "I'm sorry, Winry…", whispered Alphonse. "Let's go see him in the hospital and see if he's woken up."

Alphonse put Winry in a one armed hug and moved her to the car he had wanting for them. Winry starred out the window and thought about the man she loved being in trouble and all she could do was pray. Pray that he would come back to Alphonse and herself. She hated to not be able to do anything to help.

They got to the hospital twenty minutes later. Alphonse showed the way to Edward's room. They walked up stairs and down the hall. Alphonse stopped in front of a door and opened it and let Winry inside first before following her in. Major Alex Luis Armstrong was watching over Edward and was talking to a Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. The Major and the Lieutenant looked up at the two of them. Winry froze as soon as she saw Edward in a dead like slumber.

"Hello, Miss. Winry", said the Major.

"Nice to see you again, Winry", said the Lieutenant.

"Um, Lieutenant, Major. I think we need to leave Winry alone with Ed", pointed out Alphonse. The lieutenant nodded and walked out of the room followed by the Major.

As soon as the door closed, Winry slowly walked to the bed were and fell to her knees. Tears rolled down her face and she began cry. Winry tried to wipe the tears away, but they wouldn't stop coming. After a while, Winry managed to pull herself into a chair near the bed and watched Edward.

Edward's face was pale and his breathing was slow and steady. He still had her automail arm and as far as she could tell, he still was missing his left leg and had the leg she made him. "You promised", muttered Winry. "You said you that would be back… How could you let this happen to yourself? Especially when you have Al and I waiting for you… EDWARD!!"

Winry folded her arms on to Edward's chest began to sob into them. She sobbed and sobbed. _Why?!_ _Why won't you wake up to my crying, Ed?! Why won't you wake up?! Please wake up…_ An idea suddenly came up and Winry lifted herself up to look at Edward's pale face. She moved closer to it and said, "Please Ed… Please wake up if you can hear me say this one thing. I love you, Ed." Winry leaned downward and lightly kissed Edward on the lips.

When she moved her head a little ways away, Winry felt more tears stream out of her eyes. Edward didn't wake up. Winry once again folded her arms over his chest and cry into them. Winry cried out, "PLEASE WAKE UP, EDWARD!! PLEASE WAKE UP!!", as she sobbed.

**--**

_PLEASE WAKE UP, EDWARD!! PLEASE WAKE UP!!_

"_That crying… Where is it coming from? That voice…Its a girl's voice… It sounds so familiar… Where have I heard it before_" These thoughts ran through Edward's mind as he fell deeper into the darkness. He was engulfed in the darkness and he couldn't move his body at all.

_PLEASE WAKE UP, EDWARD!! PLEASE WAKE UP!!_

"_Wake up? What are you talking about? Aren't I already awake? What a minute how come I can't move body? Unless… I'm not awake. Ok, I'm not awake, but who is this Edward you keep talking about? Is that my name? I can't remember. As a matter a fact I can't remember anything. Why is that?_"

"_Hey, where am I anyway?! Why am I falling?! There's gotta be other people here! But where?! I can't exactly move my body in order to look! Is anybody out there?! SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, HELP ME!!_"

_PLEASE WAKE UP, EDWARD!! PLEASE WAKE UP!!_

"_I CAN'T!! I'M SORRY!! I CAN'T WAKE UP!! WHY CAN'T I WAKE UP?!_"

'_Morning Ed._'

"_Huh? There's that girl's voice again…_"

'_Hey Ed. Can I give you something?_'

"_Give me- But I don't even know you. Or do I? Why I can't remember?!_"

'_This is my favorite earring. It would make me very happy if you wore it._'

"_Hey, this kind of sounds familiar! Where have I heard it before._"

'_Please, Ed… It's an insurance that you won't forget me and have another reason to come home safely. This way a piece of me will be with you on your journey and give you luck._'

"_An insurance… that I won't forget you… and have another reason to come home…safely…_"

'_Winry…_'

"_Hey that's my voice! Winry… That sounds familiar too! Is that the name of the girl that the voice belongs to? It has to be! She must mean a whole lot to me… But why can't I remember her?!_"

'_I guess it'll be ok… It's just an earring, right?_'

"_Earring?! What earring?!_"

Edward felt a sharp pain in his left ear. Edward quickly lifted his hand to his ear and felt some thing that wasn't there before. It was an earring!

"_An earring!! But how- When?! It wasn't there before?!_"

_And promise you'll never take it off, no matter what!_

It was as if his heart was trying to tell his brain something. Trying to make him remember something that his brain could not. But what?

"_Is this the earring that that Winry girl was talking about?! It must be! Why can't I remember?! Wait a minute! I-I moved my arm! Does that mean I can open my eyes?!_"

Edward tensed his face in order to open his eyes. Little by little, they opened. Edward saw the darkness surrounding him. He gulped. It was cold and unyielding and unfeeling. He grabbed his upper arms and rubbed them as he sat up. Edward eventually got to his feet and tried to remember everything. Suddenly a face of a light blonde haired blue-eyed girl appeared in his minds eye. And then everything came back to him.

"Winry…"

**--**

A month past since Winry had arrived in Central. She never left the hospital let alone Edward's side. Alphonse brought her food and took her place when she needed to do something like go to the bathroom or take a shower. She hardly ever spoke. Pretty soon, Winry began to wonder if he would ever walk up. But she never left his side even if she lost faith. Winry would rest her head on the side of his bed when she needed to sleep. All she would do was watch him all day long.

At first, Alphonse objected for her to act like this. But Winry told him that she wanted to stay by his side 'til the end. She even yelled at him. Soon, Alphonse gave up on convincing her. The Major didn't say anything, but he was worried about her. The Lieutenant tried to talk to her too. She ended up like Alphonse; getting yelled at.

One night on the fifth week, Winry was sleeping soundly at Edward's bedside, dreaming about the last time they saw each other. She was woken up by being petted on the head by someone. She lifted her head, half expecting to see Alphonse or the Lieutenant or the Major patting her. But instead of seeing anyone of those three, she saw him.

Edward was sitting up and smiling wearily at her. Winry felt tears roll down her face as her heart exploded with happiness. She straitened up and starred up at him with her eyes opened wide. "Hey, Winry", said Edward in a raspy voice. "Sorry that I couldn't keep my promise and sorry to keep you waiting."

"Ed…"

"Thanks by the way… for the earring. It came in more handy than you think."

"Ed… EDWARD!!" Winry threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around him. She began to cry into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her as well. "I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!!"

"Don't cry over me, Winry", muttered Edward. "I'm not worthy of you tears."

"SHUT UP", shouted Winry. "ONLY I CAN DECIDE WHO IS WORTHY OF MY TEARS!! AND YOU ARE!! YOU ARE WORTHY, ED!! OTHERWISE I WOULDN'T HAVE WAITED OVER A MONTH FOR YOU TO WAKE UP!!"

"Winry…" Edward held her tighter and closed his eyes. Then he let go of her. "Excuse me for a second, Winry." Winry slowly let go of Edward and watched as he toke of her earring. He grabbed her hand and put the earring in it. "I may have not gotten my arm and leg back but we got Al got his body back and the three of us will be going home together. I won't need to be reminded of you when I will see you everyday. And besides, I bet you miss it."

Winry looked at the earring, closed her eyes, and smiled. She shook her head and said, "No." Winry grabbed Edward's hand, put the earring in it, and closed his hand. "I want you to keep it, Ed."

"But-"

"It's my earring… So I get to decide who gets to keep it. I want you to have it… just in case something like this happens again. In case we get separated again." Winry quickly hugged Edward. "I missed you so much."

"Winry… Thanks…"

"WINRY!!" Alphonse ran into the room. "WINRY, IS ED UP?!"

Winry quickly tore away and looked at him. She glared at him. She wanted to yell, "AL!! WE WERE HAVING A ROMANTIC MOMENT HERE!!" But she didn't, she just glared. "Al, this is a hospital and it's in the middle of the night! Could you quiet down a little?!"

"That's weird. Just a few minutes ago, you were crying as loudly as Al was yelling, Winry", pointed out Edward with a smirk on his face.

"Shut it", muttered Winry. She pulled out her wrench. "Or I'll put you back in a coma."

"Right. I'll remember that."

"BROTHER!!" Alphonse jumped onto Edward and hugged him tightly. "Brother, you're ok! I'm so glad to see that you're awake!"

"And I'm glad to see that you're back in you're body, Al. I know that I promised that we would feast after we got out of there. Are you hungry?!"

"Yeah, Brother! Let's go to the kitchen!" Alphonse got off his brother and walked out the door. Winry turned to Edward. She smiled at him. He was putting her earring back in his ear. Edward looked at Winry and grinned back at her.

"What's a matter, Winry", he asked.

Winry's faced turned red and she looked away. "Nothing, Ed. Go and join, Al. I'll be here waiting."

Edward shook his head and said, "It wouldn't feel right to leave you out, Winry." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door and the down the stairs.


	4. Winry’s Kiss and Al’s Confession

Chapter Four

Winry's Kiss and Al's Confession

Edward sat in a private compartment with Winry and Alphonse on a train that was heading back to Resembool. Edward was upset by the fact that he wasn't allowed to retire from the military like the three of them wanted him to. This is the second time King Bradley, the President of their country Amestris, had threatened Winry. Edward thought that once they had restored their bodies that he could leave the military behind him. But he was wrong. Now when the country goes to war, he will be called to aid his country and there's nothing that he or anybody else could do.

Luckily, for the three of them, Colonel Roy Mustang let Edward live out in Resembool with his younger brother and Winry. The Colonel said in exchange for doing this for Edward, that if he needed any help on anything that he would temporally pull Edward away from his happy life in order to do his duty as a State Alchemist without any complaints. Edward sighed and looked out the window. Even though he didn't want to admit it, the Colonel did help him and Alphonse out a lot.

"Ed", came Winry's voice. "Ed, are you ok?"

"Fine", muttered Edward.

"You don't look fine, Brother", pointed out Alphonse. Edward hated the fact that Alphonse was so observant.

"Of course I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be fine?! I get to keep my job as a state alchemist! It's great to know that I will stay a dog of the military! Oh, and not to mention that Truth b#& didn't give me back my arm and leg!"

"Ed…", whined Winry.

"What?!"

"Please try to forget about it… There may not be another war for years-"

"A war isn't the problem, Winry! It's the fact that I'm a dog's dog! I have to do everything that that stupid Colonel says! And there might be a war, but it won't be between us and another country, but between a handful of people and the military with the help from the homunculi! I don't know what to do!"

"Please, Brother, try not to worry about it. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. The important thing right now is that we are together again! All three of us, as a family."

"A family, huh? Now that has a nice ring to it."

"Hey, Ed", said Winry. "Do you ever think about getting married and starting your own family?"

Edward rested his hand on his fist and looked back out the window. "Nah, not really. I mean who needs to start another one when I got you two! And plus I don't want to get married or have kids if I'm stuck in the military. If I died that would break the hearts of my wife and kids not to mention you two."

"But what if you weren't still in the military, Ed?"

"Nope. I told you before, I'm too much like my dad. I'll probably ditch my family like he did with us. And plus I'm too restless to settle down. No, I'm satisfied with you guys."

"Oh, ok…" Edward turned to Winry. Winry quickly looked at her thighs.

"What's wrong, Winry-"

"I have to get some air." Winry quickly stood up and walked out the door, slamming it behind her.

"Brother! Look what you did", snapped Alphonse.

"What'd I do", asked Edward, shocked that he was getting blamed for something.

"Never mind! I'm going to go talk to her."

"No, I'll go… I'm the one that supposedly hurt her… I'll go talk to her."

"No, I said that I would!"

"Al!" Edward and Alphonse stood up and glared at each other. "Look, you said so yourself! I hurt her, let me fix the damage that I caused!"

"Do you even know how you hurt her?!" Edward didn't answer. He didn't really know why Winry had left. He had to retaliate back at Alphonse for being right.

"Do you know?!"

"Yes, I do, Ed! Winry cares about you! You saying stuff like not wanting to get married and have kids and saying crap like being like dad hurts her! You're not like him, Ed! You may look like him and you may be a genius like him, but you would never ditch your family!"

"Al…"

"Winry and I both want you to be happy! And we both want to see you stop putting yourself down! Now, _I'm _going to go talk to Winry!" Alphonse turned to leave but Edward grabbed him and threw him onto the seat.

"No, Al. _I'll_ go talk to her." Edward left the compartment, slamming the door behind him. Edward looked from the left side of the car to the right side of the car. Winry wasn't in their car. Edward went right to get to the end of the train. Edward looked out the window to find Winry leaning on the railing. He quietly opened the door and closed it behind him. Winry looked back at the sound of the noise but looked back at the scenery that they were leaving behind. "May I join you, Winry."

"I don't care", muttered Winry. Edward stood next to her and leaned against the railing. He looked up at her. Winry turned away before he could see all of her face, but what he did see made him mentally kick himself. Winry was crying,

"Winry, I'm sorry", he said. "It's that I think that I don't disserve to be happy like you and Al do! I'm satisfied with Al being back in his body and the three of us together. I don't need to fall in love, let alone disserve someone's love."

"YOU JUST DON'T GET IT!!" Winry turned around and grabbed the collar of his clothes and shook him. "IF ANYONE HERE DISSERVSE TO BE HAPPY, EDWARD, IT'S YOU!! YOU'VE BEEN HURTING AND BLAIMING YOURSELF FOR ELEVEN YEARS!! IT'S OVER, ED!! YOU GUYS ARE BACK TO NORMAL!! YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT IT!!"

Winry rested her head against Edward's chest not letting go of his clothes. She began to cry. Edward looked down at her. He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry. Winry straitened herself up and wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. She began to cry even harder and Edward felt his heart jerk. He hated to see Winry cry. He liked her better when she smiled. He closed his eyes and held her tightly.

A few minutes had passed, Edward was beginning to wonder if Winry would even let go of him. Winry had stopped crying a while ago, but she refused to let go of him. Edward opened his eyes, reading himself for separation. That's when Edward felt it. Edward's eyes opened wider. What he felt was something that he had never felt before in his life. Lips pressed against his neck. Winry's lips. Winry was kissing his neck! "Winry, what are you doing", whispered Edward.

Winry didn't answer. Edward wanted to push her off, but his body was frozen. His face blushed from the fact that his childhood friend was kissing his neck. "Winry…" She kept kissing his neck. Winry soon moved up his neck and onto his face. "Winry, please… Why are you doing this? Tell me…"Winry was now at his mouth but stayed a few centimeters away from him. Edward felt her breath brush up against his lips. He slowly opened his eyes and found Winry's pretty blue eyes. Tears were flowing out of her eyes.

"Ed…" whispered Winry. "I can't help it…"

"What are you talking about?!"

"I'm sorry… I can't help it… when I'm around you…"

Winry leaned in and kissed Edward. Edward's face went even redder than before. Edward watched Winry as she pulled away from him, her face red from blushing too. She covered her mouth with her hands in realization of what she had done. Edward blinked and then saw Winry turning to leave, yelling, "I'M SO SORRY, ED!!"

She ran into the car, leaving Edward to think about what had just happened. Edward's senses came back to him and he ran after her. He stopped at their compartment to find Alphonse had stuck his head out. He was glaring at Edward. "Ed! What did you do now", snapped Alphonse.

"It's not I what did to her", replied Edward, his face still red from the kiss. He waved his hands in front of his face. "It's what Winry did to me!"

"What's that supposed mean?!"

"Al! She- Oh, just forget it!"

Edward ran past Alphonse and continued down the train car and into the next one. Winry wasn't anywhere. Edward stopped and sat down on an empty seat to rest for a second. Edward stood up a minute later. He was all the way at the front of the train. Edward looked around the last car and spotted her sitting in the last seat of the car. She held her head in her hands. She was still crying.

Edward quietly waked up to Winry and sat down across from her. He sighed through his nose, giving her a sign that he was there. Winry immediately looked up at him, tears rolling down her face. She looked as if she were scared by the sight of him and wanted to run away. Edward closed his eyes and sighed again. "Look, Winry… I'm not mad at you like you might think", said Edward. He opened his eyes and gave her a serious face. "Just taken aback, that's all. And I don't know what to think and I don't know what you want me to think. But I wished you hadn't ran away like that because now Alphonse thinks I hurt you again and now we don't exactly have privacy to talk freely about this."

"Are you mad", asked Winry.

"I told you that I wasn't", Edward was now smiling at her. "Actually, I'm sort of glad. That may have been my first kiss, but I'm happy it was you that gave it to me. I rather get my first kiss from a close friend then some person I just met."

"Ed…"

"And I think that that'll be the only and last kiss I will ever receive…"

"Ed…"

"So, thanks…"

"Ed… You're welcome, Ed…"

"So, now that that's said, let's go back. Al's probably worried about you…"

"Al? Oh yeah…"

Edward stood up and held out his hand for Winry to take it. Winry hesitated and then slowly reached out to grab his hand. Edward pulled Winry to her feet and they walked back to their compartment together, hand in hand.

As soon as the door opened, Alphonse bombarded Edward with questions. But Edward answered only one. "What did you do to make Winry cry?!"

"Like I said before, I didn't do anything", answered Edward.

"It's what I did, Al", Winry finished for Edward. "You see I-I kissed Ed, Al… And I ran away because I thought that Ed would be mad at me… But he wasn't… so don't be mad him…"

"See, I told you", said Edward in an angry tone. He glared at Alphonse.

"You kissed…" Alphonse's finger went from Winry to Edward. He looked disappointed. "Ed…"

"What's that supposed to mean, Al", asked Edward who was getting more and more angry.

"Oh, nothing… Never mind, Brother…"

"You know what? I think that you've been acting weird ever since we left Central. Is something wrong, Al?" Alphonse's face went red and he began to wave his hand madly in front of his face.

"NO! NO! NOTHING'S WRONG!! HONEST BROTHER", Alphonse yelled.

"Al, if there's one thing I like about you, it's that you're a bad lair and that I can always tell when you're lying. Now tell me what's wrong!"

"Ok… But…" Alphonse starred at Winry and blushed again.

"But what?!" Edward looked in the direction that Alphonse was looking in and got the picture. He turned to Winry. "Sorry, Winry, but Al wants it to be between the two of us. You know man to man."

"Oh… right", muttered Winry. And she slowly walked out of the room. "I'll go to the bathroom…"

Winry closed the door behind her. Edward sighed and sat down in his spot on the seat. Alphonse sat across from him and looked down at the floor in the space in between his legs. "Ok, Al! Spill it! What's so bad that you have to make Winry leave?!"

"Well… you see… the thing is", Alphonse muttered. "Do get mad at me when I say this…"

"Why would I get mad at you Al? Don't be daft!" Edward rested his head on his fist and grinned at Alphonse.

"Ok… You see the thing is… I l-love Winry…"

Edward's eyes widened. He moved his head away from his fist and starred at Alphonse with a look of confusion. Alphonse looked up at him and then looked away, his face very red. "Al… Why would I get mad at you because of that", asked Edward.

"You love her too, don't you, Ed", asked Alphonse looking back at Edward. Edward's face went red immediately at this.

"What makes you think that?! I only like Winry as a friend! Nothing more, nothing less!"

"So you don't love her, Ed?"

"Nope!" Edward laughed as he scratched the back of his head. Edward calmed down a bit and looked seriously at Alphonse. "Look, if you love Winry, Al, you should go after her."

"You think so?!"

"Yeah…"

"But she kissed you, Brother…"

"So?! It was a small simple kiss. Nothing more. Now, if you don't mind, I'll go get Winry, ok?" Edward stood up as he said this. He left the room and walked to the bathroom two-train cars away from the one they were on. Edward stopped outside the girl's bathroom and waited for Winry to go out.

_So, Al loves Winry_", thought Edward as he waited for Winry. _That explains a lot. Like why he got so mad me when I hurt Winry or like when he saw Winry crying. And he must've gotten jealous when he heard that Winry kissed me. But I do feel bad. I lied. I said I wasn't mad or jealous, but I am. I don't know why but I am. Why did it piss me off when Al confessed his love for Winry to me?_

Edward raised his hand and lightly grabbed the earring Winry had given him the day before. _I know that I should be happy for Al, but… I can't. Winry… I wish I could tell you about this, but it has to be Al to tell you how he feels about you…_

Winry came out of the bathroom at that moment and she gasped when she saw Edward waiting for her. "Sorry", said Edward while trying to sound calm. "I didn't scare you, did I?"

"Yeah, a little, Ed", said Winry. "Don't worry about it, Ed. What's a matter?"

"I just came to get you, that's all."

"Oh, do you like your earring?" Edward's eyes opened wide as he realized that he was still holding on to the earring. He quickly let go of his earring and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, I guess I do", laughed Edward. "I must say when you first gave it to me I didn't like it, but now… Well, let's just say that I've grown somewhat attached to it… So attached to it that I was sad when I gave it back to you." Edward grinned at Winry.

"I'm glad that you like it, Ed", said Winry in a quiet voice. "It makes me happy when I see you wearing it…"

"Great! Let's go back…"

"'Kay!"

_I don't know why Al's confession pissed me off so badly, but when Winry smiles like she did just now, I'm sure that I will find out soon enough._


	5. Her Confession and His Proposal

Diclaimer: I do not own FMA!!

Chapter Five

Her Confession and His Proposal

Three weeks had past since they had returned home and everything had returned to normal. Everything except that Alphonse had disappeared for a few days and when he returned, he acted really weird around Winry. Winry didn't know what to make of it and she suspected that Edward had his suspicions. But Winry soon forgot about that, because the Colonel called Edward to do a mission for him.

Winry was deeply worried. She had almost lost Edward, and now he was being taken away from her again. She was worried that something might happen to him again. Something like death. When Edward told Winry the bad news, she almost cried. She immediately ran to her room and locked the door. Edward was to leave in the morning and she would have to go four days without him. Or worse, Winry might never get to him again.

That's when Winry decided that she would tell Edward how she felt about him. That she loved him. She waited away to calm down and then walked outside. By this time Winry had decide that she would tell him in the morning, that way she would not spoil their last night together. Edward made sure that she was alright before he went back to reading his book. Winry made dinner for the three of them and they ate in silence. A couple hours after dinner, Winry said good night to the both of them and went to bed.

Winry woke up bright and early to make sure that she caught Edward before he snuck off. She knocked on his door and Edward's voice rang through. "Who is it?!"

"It's me! It's Winry! Can I come in?! I want to talk to you before you leave!"

"Yeah, sure! Come in, Winry!"

Winry opened the door and closed it behind her. She found Edward packing the suitcase on his bed. Winry sat on his bed and watched him finish. Edward looked up at her and asked, "What did you want to talk about, Winry?" Winry looked away and starred at his suitcase.

"Well, I wanted to tell you that I…"

"That you…what?"

"That I'm in love with someone…"

"Really?! That's great!! Who's the lucky guy?! Is it Al?!"

"No…"

"It's not? Then who?"

"It's you, Ed… You're the lucky guy…" Winry starred up at Edward, her eyes beginning to blur with tears. Edward's eyes were opened wide.

"What…did…you…say…Winry…"

"I love you, Ed… I wanted to tell you this for along time… In fact I did… at the hospital…when you were still in a coma…"

"But…why…to…day…"

"I don't want to take the chance of you leaving me without knowing… I was afraid that something would happen to you again… I wanted- I wanted you to know so that you would have something to look forward to get back home to…"

"Win..ry…"

"I'm sorry… I know that you didn't want to fall in love… But… You mean everything to me… I love you more than you can ever know…"

"Winry… I-I don't know what to say-"

Winry rested a finger against Edward's lips and whispered, "Then don't say anything…" She slowly removed her finger from his lips and kissed him. She held her lips against his for a few seconds and she moved away from him. "Just promise that you'll come back safely to Al and me."

"I promise…"

Winry nodded and walked out of the room. She ran to her own room and jumped on her bed. For a second Winry thought that she saw Alphonse, but she put that out of her mind. She finally did it. Edward knew that she loved him. Even though it was a little, Winry was happy. She heard a knock on her door.

Winry looked up to find Alphonse standing in her door way. He walked inside and closed the door behind him. He walked over to Winry and said, "I've been meaning to tell you this for a few weeks from now, Winry."

"Tell me what, Al", she asked, afraid that this was all too similar.

"That I love you… I love you Winry!"

Winry's eyes opened wide. He loved her?! Winry didn't reply soon enough, for Alphonse had knelt on one knee and pulled out a small box. He opened it and showed her a beautiful ring. "Will you marry me Winry?"

The seconds dragged on as Winry starred at the ring in the box. She wanted to say no but she didn't know how. Winry had done it before, but that was when they were kids and didn't understand love. Now that she knew what love was, Winry didn't want to break Winry's heart.

The door suddenly opened and Edward came in saying, "Ok, Winry I'm going-" Edward stopped when he saw Alphonse and Winry, his eyes were wide open. There was a lot of hurt in his eyes. "Excuse me", Edward said, his voice shacking with pain. Edward walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Winry jumped and ran after him. By the time she got to Edward, he had his hand on the door. "WAIT ED", she called to him. Winry hugged the arm that was holding on to the suitcase and held it tightly. "Please, Ed! It isn't what you think it is! Trust me!"

"I'll be back to get the rest of my stuff, Winry. And then I'll be out of your lives forever", muttered Edward in his hurt voice. "Don't bother inviting me to the wedding, I won't come."

"NO, DON'T GO", screamed Winry, tears flowing out of her eyes. "PLEASE!! DON'T GO EDWARD!! I'M BEGGING YOU, ED!! I LOVE YOU!! PLEASE, ED!!"

"I hope you two will be happy together."

And with that, Edward pulled his arm away and walked out the door. Winry fell to her hands and knees and began to cry. She cried out his name, hoping that he would come bursting through the front door and embrace her tightly. But Edward never came back. Alphonse walked up to her and tried to comfort her, but Winry just pushed him away. She wanted Edward. No! She needed Edward.

"Here, Winry", said Alphonse when he had decided to give up on her. "Forget about what I had said. You can keep this as a present from friend to friend."

"Thank you Al", Winry whispered. "But I can't marry you and I don't love you that way… I love Ed…"

"I'm sorry that I ruined you're chances of being with my brother."

"Forget it, Al. It's like he said… He'll be back to get the rest of his stuff… I have one last chance, Al… One last chance to change things…" Alphonse nodded and left her alone. And there she sat waiting for Edward to return to her like at the hospital, only Alphonse was sadder then before.


	6. His Realization

Diclaimer: I do not own FMA!!

Chapter Six

His Realization

Edward stood outside the door of his childhood friend, Winry's house, listening to her cries. She was screaming out his name and called him back to the house. "EDWARD!! ED, PLEASE COME BACK!! PLEASE ED!! I LOVE YOU!!" But Edward didn't go back. Listening to Winry's cries made Edward's heart jerk. That's when he heard it. Winry cried out something that he would never forget. "NO AL!! I WANT EDWARD!! I NEED EDWARD!!"

Edward looked back at the front door behind him. He wanted to burst through the front door and comfort her but he had already made his decision. Edward closed his eyes tightly. They were hurting. When he opened his eyes, Edward blinked out tears. When Edward realized that he was crying, he ran down the porch's staircase and down the dirt road. Edward bought his ticket and ran on to the train.

Edward didn't want to do this to Winry, but he had no choice. He didn't disserve her. He didn't love her. But he was sort of happy that Winry had told him the truth, but he couldn't be with her. She disserved someone nice, someone like Alphonse. Edward felt tears roll down his face.

The train started to leave and Edward said goodbye to his hometown. Edward watched the world go by him as he thought about that had happened to him that morning. Edward subconsciously lifted his hand to his ear and held onto the earring that Winry had given him. He made a habit of doing this after they had gotten home. Every time he did this, it reminded him of Winry.

When Edward realized what he had done, he quick tried to remove the earring. He had to take it off. He wanted to forget about Winry. He almost had it off when Winry's voice rang into his head.

_And promise you'll never take it off, no matter what!_

"Winry…" whispered Edward. Edward began to sob as he covered his face with his hands.

_ONLY I CAN DECIDE WHO IS WORTHY OF MY TEARS!! AND YOU ARE!! YOU ARE WORTHY, ED!! OTHERWISE I WOULDN'T HAVE WAITED OVER A MONTH FOR YOU TO WAKE UP!!_

"I'm…"

_No._ _I want you to keep it, Ed._

_It's my earring… So I get to decide who gets to keep it._

_I want you to have it… just in case something like this happens again._

_In case we get separated again._

_I missed you so much._

_Hey, Ed. Do you ever think about getting married and starting your own family?_

_Ed… I can't help it… I'm sorry… I can't help it… when I'm around you…_

"…So…"

_That I'm in love with someone… _

_It's you, Ed… You're the lucky guy…_

_I love you, Ed… I wanted to tell you this for along time. In fact I did… at the hospital…when you were still in a coma…_

_I don't want to take the chance of you leaving me without knowing… I was afraid that something would happen to you again… I wanted- I wanted you to know so that you would have something to look forward to get back home to…_

_I'm sorry… I know that you didn't want to fall in love… But… You mean everything to me… I love you more than you can ever know…_

"…So sorry…"

_I love you, Ed…_

"…So sorry, Winry…"

_I love you, Ed…_

"I'M SO SORRY!! WINRY!!"

**--**

Edward sat on the couch in Colonel Roy Mustang's office, waiting for the Colonel to tell him of his assignment. The Colonel turned around and looked Edward. "Well, Fullmetal, It's been a while. How have you been?"

"Don't tell me you just called me here to have a chat", snapped Edward. "If that's the case, then it thanks to your stupid mission that I can never live with Al and Winry!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Al proposed to Winry after she had told me that she loved me… She said that she wanted to tell me that in case I died on your stupid mission… Whether or not the mission affected Al's decision, I don't know…"

"Ah, so our little Al is getting married to the beautiful Winry… How nice."

"Yeah… Nice for you…"

"Excuse me Edward", came a voice from the door behind Edward. Edward turned around to see Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye poking her head in through the door. "But did you say that Winry said that she loved you?"

"Don't remind me…"

"Then why aren't you in Resembool?"

"Because Al loves her… And she would unhappy with me…"

"What makes you say that?"

"Just because… Look tell me why I'm here so that I can go home- I mean look for a knew home." Edward turned back the Colonel and glared at him.

"The reason why you are here is because I wanted to tell you that you missed assessment. You're here so that I can either renew you're license or take it away."

The colonel gave Edward an evil smirk. Edward's eyes opened wide as he heard this. "You mean…"

"The choice is yours Ed. Do you want to be free or be chained forever?"

"I want to be free! I only joined the military to get my brother's body back and to get my arm and leg back. Now that I've done that, I don't want to have anything to do with you people!"

"I see… Well, I'm going to miss you, Ed..."

"Don't act like this goodbye, stupid! Come and visit me sometime!" Edward stood up to leave and looked back, "Hey, you guys don't mind if I keep this, do you?" Edward held up the pocket watch and showed it to the Colonel. The Colonel just scoffed.

"Why would you want that", he asked.

"I've grown attached to it", answered Edward. "I would like to keep it."

"Sure, Ed…" Edward walked to the door but stopped after he opened it. He looked back.

"Colonel!"

"Call me Roy! You're not part of the military anymore, remember?!"

"Roy then. Roy, if you need any help in a fight against the Homunculi, I'm just a call away!"

"Got it, Ed." And with that Edward walked out of the room for the last time.

When Edward closed the door behind him, he found the Lieutenant's red eyes starring intently at him. Edward jumped back. "Oh, Lieutenant… I didn't see you there… You startled me-"

"Ed", said the Lieutenant sternly. "We need to talk." She grabbed Edward's hand and pulled him out of Central Headquarters and to a café. They sat down and order some coffee. They were quiet until their drinks got to the table and then the Lieutenant confronted Edward. "Ed, I think that you need to go back to Resembool and talk to Winry."

"I can't", muttered Edward.

"Of course you can. You care about her, right?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then if I were you, I would go back home and stay with Winry no matter what she decides or whether I think that I disserve her or not."

"Well, you're not me… It would make things too complicated…"

"You idiot!" The Lieutenant raised her voice slightly and glared at Edward. "You should have seen her when she first saw you in a coma! As soon as she saw you, she froze and didn't talk to anyone! She never left the hospital! She was crying most of the time! She was scared out of her mind! She thought that you were going to die! And now you turn around and do the same thing to her again! Winry's probably in the same spot you left her! Waiting for you to return to her. She loves you, not Alphonse!"

"Lieutenant", said Edward in aw.

"Ed! Do you love Winry?!"

"What?! No!!"

"Then, why is this such a big deal?" Edward's eyes opened wide. "Why do you make such a big deal of the fact that Alphonse proposed to Winry? Why did you say such a horrible thing to Winry like I'm not coming back to retaliate to the fact that she was proposed to by someone else."

"I don't know…"

"Yes you do, Ed. The answer has been in front of you all along."

"What are you saying? That I love Winry?"

"I didn't say it." The Lieutenant smirked at Edward has his eyes opened wide again. "Just one last question. Why are you still wearing her earring?"

"Because she made me promise not to take it off."

"And why would it bother you so much to not keep that promise?"

"Because I don't want to see her cry."

"And why do not want to see her cry?"

"Because I hate to see Winry cry…"

"Because…"

It was beginning to dawn on Edward what Riza was getting at. Edward thought back to when Winry first suggested the earring. Winry was on the verge of tears then and he had given up his manly ways to reassure her that he would be safe. Edward held onto the earring on his ear now. Edward remembered how she smiled when she heard that he had learned to like the earring. He remembered the kisses he had received from Winry and how happy he had felt afterward.

Then Edward remembered how he felt when Alphonse told him that he loved Winry. Edward remembered that he was pissed and for some reason jealous of the fact that Alphonse was in love with Winry. It ate away at him until he saw her smiling face. Then Edward's mind drifted to the moment were he saw Alphonse down on one knee and holding a ring and Winry on the bed, lost for words. Edward's heart broke at that moment and he slammed the door and ran down stairs.

Then Edward remembered how his heart broke even more when he heard Winry cry. How he wanted to embrace her when she screamed that she wanted him. Needed him. Edward clenched his fists and closed his eyes tightly. He rolled over all this information in his mind. Then it came to him. It was true. Edward loved Winry too. Edward looked up at the Lieutenant. She was smiling softly at him.

Edward stood up, slamming his fists on to the table. "I love her! I love Winry! What am I doing sitting her?! I have to get home now! Thanks Lieutenant!" Edward ran off to the train station waving behind him.

"Good luck, Ed", she called back.

Edward ran to the train station and quickly bored the next train out of Central and head to Resembool. He arrived at Resembool the next morning. It was raining outside. Edward cursed out loud and ran all the way home. By the time he arrived at the top step of the porch, Edward was soaked. But Edward didn't care. All he cared about was the fact that he was home and was that Winry stilled wanted him. Edward took a deep breath and knocked on the door.


	7. Together

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA!!

Chapter Seven

Together

Edward knocked on the door. He was soaked from all the rain that was poring on him. He was slightly breathless. The door opened slowly and he saw Winry's beautiful face. Her eyes opened wide when she realized that it was Edward. Winry gasped. "Ed, you're soaked", she replied. And with that she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. Winry began to take off his coat and Edward took off his shirt. Winry took his coat and shirt to the bathroom and back with a towel.

Winry undid his braided ponytail and started to dry off his hair. Winry helped Edward over to the couch and rest the towel over his head. "Ed, do you want me to make you something to eat", Winry asked. Edward nodded. Winry walked away. "Just stay there, Ed. Is stew ok?"

"Yeah", said Edward. Edward removed the towel and stood up. He walked over to the kitchen and watched as Winry made him his stew. When Winry was finished, she turned to leave the kitchen with a bowl in her hands. She gasped when she saw Edward standing in the doorway.

"Ed, you scared me", said Winry. "I told you to stay on the couch!"

"Sorry, Winry", muttered Edward.

Winry put the bowl of stew on the table and rested a spoon next to it. "Well, now that you're here, you can sit down and eat. Where's your suitcase?"

"It's still in Central", muttered Edward as he sat down.

"So you did come here to just get the rest of your things…

Edward didn't say anything. "I'll get some dry clothes for you, Ed", whispered Winry. She left the kitchen quietly. Edward immediately stood up and slowly followed her upstairs. He stopped at his door and pushed it open. Winry, who didn't hear the door open, was rummaging through his drawer. Edward silently walked up behind her.

"Tell me", Edward said sternly. "Do you really love me, Winry?"

Winry gasped and looked back at Edward. She held her hand over her heart as if to stop it from beating to fast. "Ed, you scared me", Winry said as she smiled wearily.

"Do you?"

"Huh?"

"Do you really love me, Winry?"

"Yes, of course I love you, Ed!"

"And you still love me?"

"Of course!"

Edward's legs suddenly gave out from under him and he fell to his hands and knees. He began to shake fiercely as tears streamed down his face. "Good… I'm so glad...I'm so glad that you still love me, Winry… especially after I hurt you… I so glad…"

"Ed… Are you ok", asked Winry as she moved closer to him. "Ed! You're crying-"

"Yes! I am just fine… Better than fine…" Edward looked up and smiled at Winry. "I feel great… I feel great because I love you too, Winry…"

"You… what…"

"I love you, Winry…" Edward sat up strait. "You mean everything to me, Winry. I need you… I love you, Winry…"

Tears strolled out of Winry's eyes as she fell against Edward and held onto him tightly. Edward wrapped his arms around her. Edward looked down at Winry and found her blue eyes starring intently up at him. She was about to kiss him when Edward pressed a finger against her lips and said, "Let me start the kiss this time Winry." Winry relaxed a little and waited for Edward to kiss her. She didn't have to wait long. Edward pressed his lips against hers.

Edward and Winry began to kiss passionately. Edward leaned backwards, pulling Winry on top of him. The sensation that was running through Edward's body was nothing like what he had felt before. It reminded him of a time when he used to use alchemy for fun and not to save their lives. Only it was better then alchemy. It was Winry. He loved her more than he loved alchemy.

What stopped them was the sound of Alphonse calling Winry's name. Edward looked at the door behind and then looked up at Winry. Winry had a disappointed look on her face. Edward felt the same way she did. Alphonse ruined another one of their special moments. Winry got off of Edward and they stood up. Edward tried to clear his head and act normal. But he couldn't. Edward was the happiest he had ever been. Winry gave him some dry clothes and walked out the door.

Edward quickly got dressed and walked out with her. They walked down stairs together, holding hand in hand. Alphonse was at the base of the staircase. He gasped when he saw that Edward was holding hands with Winry.

"Yo, Alphonse", replied Edward with a grin on his face. "What's up? I'm home!"

"Brother, when did you get home", asked Alphonse.

"A few minutes ago."

"That's great!" Alphonse ran up and hugged Edward tightly and then let go as fast as he had grabbed on.

"I'll go warm up the stew, Ed", replied Winry as she headed to the kitchen. "Do you want some Al?"

"Yeah", Alphonse called behind him. And then he turned back to Edward. "So, what were you two doing up there, _Brother_."

"That is none of your business, Al", answered Edward in a quiet voice. Edward and Alphonse glared at each other. "But if you must know, _Little Brother_, I told Winry that I loved her. And I do. And there's nothing you can do to change that fact."

"Then that means that you and I are rivals, Ed. I love you, brother. But I love Winry more and I will fight for her and she will fall in love with me."

"Sorry to say this Al, but you are so immature. I love you both and I can't choose between you. But Winry loves me. And plus it looks like that proposal you made a few days ago had no affect on her."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Winry and I were making out just before you interrupted us. She didn't fight me or anything. Sorry, Al, but you lost this fight. I may have been late on realizing how important Winry is to me, but in the end what Winry wants is all that matters. And in the end, all I want is for Winry to be happy. I hope you find a girl that loves you and you love back." Edward patted Alphonse on the shoulder and walked into the kitchen with a feeling of victory growing in his heart.

Edward walked up to Winry and kissed her lightly on the top of her head. He took in her sweet smell and whispered, "I love you, Winry. And I want to make you happy."

Winry looked up at Edward and said, "I love you too, Ed." She smiled at him and Edward smiled back.


	8. Al's Change

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA!!

Chapter Eight

Al's Change

Winry had heard the entire conversation between Edward and Alphonse. She didn't really like it at first. Winry felt like they were treating her as a trophy, but then Edward had made Winry change her mind about it. _Winry and I were making out just before you interrupted us. She didn't fight me or anything. Sorry, Al, but you lost this fight. I may have been late on realizing how important Winry is to me, but in the end what Winry wants is all that matters. And in the end, all I want is for Winry to be happy. I hope you find a girl that loves you and you love back._

Every time Winry remembered what Edward had said, she held a big grin on her face and giggled. When Edward saw her do this he would laugh and ask, "What's so funny?" Winry would giggle even more and say, "Oh, nothing, Ed." Edward would just shake his head and say, "I just don't get girls sometimes."

Alphonse had stopped hitting on Winry after Edward had clearly told him that Winry was his girl. This relieved Winry a little bit because now she wouldn't have to tell Alphonse that she thought of him as her younger brother, not as a boyfriend. Alphonse was depressed for a little while, but he got over it and began to chase after a childhood friend of theirs, Nelly. Sometimes Alphonse would go to her house and wouldn't return until morning.

When Alphonse did this the first time, Winry almost called the police and filed a missing person's report. Edward had to nail her to a couch until Alphonse came home. Alphonse got his head bitten off by Winry, especially after he said he was at Nelly's house. That was the final straw. Edward pulled Alphonse out of Winry's line of fire and locked him up in his room where he would be safe.

"Jeez, Winry", replied Edward as he walked back down stairs from locking up Alphonse, "Why are you upset?! I thought that you loved me, not Al! You're not jealous of Nelly, are you?!"

"NO, I'M NOT JEALOUS OF NELLY, ED", yelled Winry. "AND I DO LOVE YOU!!" Winry took a deep breath and lowered her voice a bit. "Its just, that Nelly is my best girlfriend! And since when has Al been a pervert?! I mean going over to a girl's house and staying the night!"

"So? What's the big deal? Al and I live in your house, don't we?"

"THAT'S DIFFERENT!! YOU AND AL HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO GO BUT HERE!! And why doesn't it bother you that your younger brother is turning into a pervert?!"

"Winry! It's been eleven years since I put Al's soul into that suit of armor! I'm sure it's because he hadn't had the ability to fall in love with someone and have that person love him in return! And I know Al wouldn't do anything inappropriate to a girl!"

"Ed, he proposed to me before asking me out!"

"Oh, come on Winry! He just a boy! Don't girls say that all boys are perverted in some way?! And plus he's twenty-one and he still hasn't gone on a date! Cut the kid some slack, Winry!"

"Fine! But if I find out that your little brother is doing something lecherous to Nelly, I'm gonna kill him!"

"Don't worry, I trust Al around girls. I mean, come on! It's Al!"

"I hope you're right, Ed…"

"Of course, I'm right! Who knows Al more than me?!"

Winry nodded and walked to the kitchen to make some breakfast. Alphonse was worrying her. He never acted this way before. It bothered her. But what bothered Winry more was the fact that Edward wasn't worried at all. Or maybe he was and didn't want Winry to know. Whatever the reason she hated to she Al act this way. Then she wondered whether or not he was trying to make her jealous.

"Oh, I hope that's not the case", said Winry to herself.

**--**

Edward watched as Winry slunk to the kitchen and then looked at the staircase that led to the bedrooms. He sighed through his nose and walked up it and to Alphonse's room. He knocked on the door and heard Alphonse's voice come from the other end. "Come in", it said in a depressed tone. Edward opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him. "Oh, it's you, Ed… For a second I though you were Winry…"

"Why, so can try to take her away from me again", Edward said sarcastically.

"No! I thought that because I was afraid that she was going to kill me…"

"And I don't blame her, Al! You just up and disappeared! You scared us both! I know! You're not a little kid anymore, Al, but still… That gives you no excuse to just run off like that!"

"I know, brother! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you and Winry, honestly I didn't!"

"Just warn us next time, ok, Al." Alphonse nodded silently. Edward sighed and then a giant grin appeared on his. "So, Al. What did you two do together last night?!"

Alphonse's face went red immediately. "Huh?! What are you talking about, Brother?!"

Edward nudged Alphonse lightly in the arm and said, "You know what I mean, Al! You and Nelly."

"We did nothing, honest, Brother!" Alphonse began to wave his hands in front of his face and laugh guiltily. "We just talked all night that's all! I swear!"

"Fine! Don't tell your older brother what happened!" Edward stood up and stormed out of the room. He walked down stairs and into the kitchen. Winry was finishing making breakfast. Edward asked if he could help, but Winry just said no. Edward walked up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and smiled.

"What's wrong, Ed", she asked.

"I don't really know", said Edward. "I guess Al's just growing up, is all."

"Yeah, it is weird that he would act like this. But it's like you said, he's just enjoy his new body. And it's thanks to you, Ed."

"Yeah, well, don't forget that it was thanks to me that he was in that armor in the first place. I had to make things right again, especially for him."

"Ed, I told you that it's over and done with. You don't have to worry about that anymore. You don't have to feel guilty anymore."

"And I don't. Not when I'm around you. But it still happened and I can never forget that it did."

"Have it your way, Ed…" Winry's expression saddened as she took their breakfast to the table. Edward watched her do this. When she had her back turned to him, Edward walked up, wrapped his arms around her waist, and held her close to him.

"Winry… I know you want to see me forget, but I can't… And I know you don't want to see me hurt, but it pains me more to see you not smile, Winry", whispered Edward.

"Ed…", Winry leaned her head back, her eyes beginning to water. Edward leaned forward and kissed Winry lightly on the lips. Winry was tense at first and then she quickly relaxed as Edward moved his lips away from hers.

"I'm sorry that I worry you so much, Winry." And with that he kissed Winry again and sat down at the table without another word.


	9. The Fight

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA!!

Chapter Nine

The Fight

It had been months since Edward had confessed his love to Winry. He had moved into her room and began to sleep with her. Edward was always happy to get in bed with the woman he loved. One morning after a year of being madly in love, Edward woke up early in the morning. He sat up, bending his right leg and resting his right arm on it. Edward silently looked out the window, waiting for Winry to get up as well.

Edward thought about the past year of happiness. It was almost like before he and Alphonse tried to bring their mother back to life. The only differences were that he and Alphonse were wiser, all three of them were much older, and they were all each other had. All three of them were glad that Edward was no longer part of the military, but Edward only told Alphonse the part about promising to help the Colonel.

He didn't want to tell Winry because he didn't want to worry her. But even though that's was what he thought was best for her, something was still nagging Edward. It didn't feel right to him to be keeping secrets from Winry, now he knew that he loved her. Edward felt really guilty every time she smiled at him. It haunted him and ate away at him. Edward began to imagine how Winry would react if she ever found out.

Edward closed his eyes and sighed through his nose. When he opened them again, he turned to the beautiful light blonde headed girl beside him, fast asleep. Winry looked so peaceful in her slumber, she even had a small smile on her face. "She must be having a nice dream", Edward whispered. "I wish I could sleep like you do, Winry…" He smiled down at her.

Winry had some hair in her face. Edward reached down and moved it out of her face. Winry tensed a little when Edward touched her, but relaxed just as fast as she had tensed. Edward began to wonder how long he would have to wait until the Colonel would call him and drag him from his happy life or if the Colonel would call at all. It was quite apparent that the Colonel wasn't going to be president any time soon, considering the fact that you have to become a homunculus in order to reach a level that high in the military.

Edward turned back to the window and thought about how Winry would take the news again. In his minds eye, he could see Winry crying her heart out. Edward closed he eyes and tried to erase the image from his mind. When he opened them, Edward found Winry's beautiful blue eyes starring curiously at him. Edward jumped at little from shock. Winry just laughed at him. Edward smiled a small smile as she leaned forward and kissed him.

"Good morning, Ed", Winry whispered, rubbing her lips against his lips as she spoke.

"Morning to you too , Winry", whispered Edward back as he did the same to her. Winry slowly moved away from him and jumped out of bed. Winry walked to the end of the bed and grabbed her nightgown and put it on. Edward jumped out of bed to and acted as if he had not been guilty of keeping a secret from her. Edward got dressed and followed Winry downstairs.

When they entered the kitchen, Alphonse was setting up breakfast for the three of them. "Al, what's all this about", asked Winry in shock. Alphonse never made breakfast for anybody, not even for himself.

"You two don't know what day it is do you", asked Alphonse with a smirk on his face.

"Should we Al", asked Edward.

"Brother, it's the one year anniversary of when we got our bodies back! How can you not remember?!"

"Well, sorry Al! Winry and I have been busy!" Edward felt Winry's hand grasp his. He tightly grabbed hers so that she wouldn't let go. Edward looked down at Winry beside him. Winry looked sad and somewhat depressed. This one-year anniversary reminded Winry of a time when she thought she might not hear his voice again or laugh with him or even to hug him. It remind Winry of those days were she watched Edward in his deep slumber.

"What's wrong Winry", asked Alphonse. He had noticed her sudden change of mood too.

"Nothing Al… Forget it… Let's eat." Winry pulled Edward over to the table and they sat down and ate. The food Alphonse had prepared was really good. Edward couldn't believe it. The only thing Alphonse had ever cooked was some fish and other animals when their teacher sent them to Yock Island.

When they were finished, Winry worked on an automail limb and Edward and Alphonse read some alchemy books. Around nine o'clock, Alphonse went Nelly's house again and said that he probably wouldn't come back until morning. When Alphonse was out the door, Edward laughed and Winry hmphed. "I think you're a bad influence on him, Ed", she huffed.

"Yeah, you're probably right, Winry", Edward scoffed. He gave Winry an evil smile when she looked back at him. Edward stood up and walked over to her. I'm going to bed Winry. You can join me if you like." Winry shook her head.

"I've got to finish this leg before tomorrow", Winry said sadly. "I be up a soon as I'm finished here, Ed."

"Ok… I'll be waiting…" Edward climbed the staircase and entered their room. He stripped down to nothing but his boxer shorts and laid in bed. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Edward was woken up by weight of someone sitting on top of him. When he opened his eyes, Edward found Winry's pretty blue starring down at him. "I'm ready to join you now", Winry whispered. Edward scoffed and leaned forward to kiss her.

**--**

Edward was woken up one more time in the middle of the night. This time it was the sound of the phone ringing down stairs. The next second, Winry had turned on a lamp and groggily said, "It's your turn to answer the phone, Ed." Edward was lying on the bed face down with one of his arms hanging off the bed. Edward lifted his head out of his pillow and looked up at Winry.

"No, it's not… It's your turn, Winry", Edward moaned.

"It's yours Ed", growled Winry.

"Really?"

"Really, really."

Edward moaned as he got out of bed he looked around the bedroom floor for his boxers and when he found them, He put them on as he walked out the room. Edward slowly walked down the stairs and to the phone. He picked up the receiver and held it to his ear. "Hello", Edward yawned.

"Hey, Ed", came the Colonel's voice from the other end. "It's Roy." Immediately, Edward's brain clicked on and he knew what Roy was calling for, but he hoped he was wrong. "You remember that promise that you made to me, right Ed?"

"Yeah", muttered Edward.

"Well, it's time, Ed", said Roy with a sad tune in his voice. "I'll expect to see you as soon as possible… Sorry Ed…"

"Don't worry about. I'll head over to Central tomorrow, Roy. Bye…"

"Bye, Ed. Good luck telling Winry…"

"Thanks…" And with that Edward hung up the phone. He stood there with his hand on the receiver, starring at it. The minutes lengthened as stood silently, half expecting the Colonel to call back and say it was all a mistake. But he didn't.

Edward heard Winry calling him, but he didn't acknowledge her voice. Winry had to grab him and shake him until he finally acknowledged her. "Ed, are you ok", asked Winry in a frightened face. Edward looked into her eyes and just looked away. He couldn't bear to look her in the eye now that he had to tell her the truth. Edward shook his head.

"Winry, we need to talk", Edward said as he grabbed Winry's hand and pulled her over to the couch. They both sat down and Edward paused as he tried to remember what to say to her. "Winry, that was the Colonel-"

"You said that you weren't in the military anymore Ed", snapped Winry. Edward shut his eyes, so as not to tempt himself to look at her.

"I'm not, Winry", he muttered.

"Then why would the Colonel call you except to ask you to do a mission for the military?!"

"Because the mission I'm going to do is the survival of this country and it's people. The military is corrupted by the homunculi and they're using alchemist and state alchemists like me to turn the inhabitance of this country into the philosopher's stone. If I don't help Roy destroy the homunculi then everyone could die, including you, Winry. And I can't let that happen to you."

"Ed…"

"You and Al have to live… I don't care if I die as long as I'm saving the lives of the people I care about…"

"Did you know that this was coming?"

"Yes…"

"For how long", Winry asked her voice shaking with anger.

"Since I quit being a state alchemist, just before I realized that I love you. I made a promise at that time-"

Winry had slapped Edward across the face. Edward had look up, rubbing the place where Winry had slapped him. Winry backed away from him slowly, tears rolling down her face. Winry had a look of hurt on her face. Edward stood up and tried to stop her from moving away, but she ran up the stairs. Edward ran after her, but it was to late. Winry had already locked the door

"Winry, come on", Edward shouted through the door. He could already hear her cries. "Please open this door!! Let's talk!! Winry!!"

"WHEN WERE YOU PLANNING ON TELL ME EDWARD", Winry screamed. "TELL ME!!"

"Well, I was sort of hoping that you would never find out", yelled Edward. "Was desperately hoping that Roy would never call!! You know I never want to leave you, Winry!! I love you!!"

"IF YOU REALLY LOVE ME, THEN YOU WOULD HAVE TOLD ME WHEN YOU SAID THAT YOU WERE NO LONGER IN THE MILITARY!! YOU KEPT A SECRET FROM ME, EDWARD!! HOW COULD YOU?! AND THEN YOU GO AND SAY CRAP LIKE, 'I DON'T CARE IF I DIE'!! WHAT ABOUT ME!! I CARE IF YOU DIE AND SO DOES ALPHONSE!! WHAT'S THE POINT OF BEING ALIVE IF YOU'RE NOT HERE WITH ME!!"

"Winry… I'm sorry…" Edward brought his hands together and put them to the door handle, automatically unlocking it. He opened the door and walked to the bed. He picked up his pillow and looked at Winry. "I'm sorry Winry… This is why my first thought when you said that you loved me was that I don't disserve you… And it turns out that I was right, wasn't I… All I do is hurt you… And I'm sorry that I can't treat you better…" And with that, Edward walked out the room, closing it behind him and walked down stairs to sleep on the couch.

Before he fell asleep, Edward thought that he heard someone walk down the stairs and to the couch where he slept. The person leaned over him. A voice spoke to him. It said, "Ed, you idiot." He felt a pair of lips touch his cheek. Some thing small and wet hit his cheek as the lips pulled away. Then the person walked away and he knew no more.

Edward woke up early the next morning. When he sat up, Edward noticed that Winry was curled up in a sofa across the room and got dressed. As he pack his suitcase, Edward found a small gift-wrapped box. Edward recognized it at once. It was the one year anniversary present that he was going to give to Winry. Now Edward wasn't even sure if he would ever be able to give to her on their anniversary. He set the box on top of the dresser and finished his packing.

Edward grabbed his suitcase and the small box and went down stairs and into the kitchen. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a note to Winry, attaching it to the small box. Edward walked over to Winry and rested it on the table beside the sofa. He looked down at Winry and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Then Edward walked out the door and found Alphonse standing at the bottom of the steps, starring up at him. Edward walked down toward Alphonse and said, "I'm going to Central to help the Colonel like I promised. I want you to stay here and protect Winry. Can you do that for me, Al?"

Alphonse nodded. Edward could see his eyes begin to water. Edward pulled him into a hug and held on tightly. "Don't worry, Al", Edward whispered. "I'll be home before you know it." And with that, Edward let go of Alphonse and went to the train station.


	10. His Gift

Chapter Ten

His Gift

Winry watched as Edward left alone in her cold empty room. Tears streamed down her face as she thought about what Edward had said to her seconds ago. _I'm sorry Winry… This is why my first thought when you said that you loved me was that I don't disserve you… And it turns out that I was right, wasn't I… All I do is hurt you… And I'm sorry that I can't treat you better…_ Winry desperately wanted to run to him and hug him and tell him wrong. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Why? She didn't know.

The seconds lengthened and she still hadn't moved from the bed. After a few minutes, Winry had finally found enough strength to move. She got off the bed and walked out of the room. Winry walked silently down the stairs and into the den.

Winry had found Edward sleeping on the couch. She silently walked up to him and bent over him. "Ed, you idiot", she whispered. She kissed his cheek. A tear escaped her eyes and fell onto Edward's cheek as Winry moved away. Winry turned around and sat on the sofa across from Edward. She fell asleep watching him sleep.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Alphonse woke Winry up the next morning. "Winry", he shouted in fear. "Winry, Ed left!!! We have to go stop him!!!"

Winry looked lazily at Alphonse for a second, thinking that what had happened last night was all just a dream. But it wasn't. Winry looked around the room before answering Alphonse. "He left to protect us, Al" Winry wanted to cry when she said this.

"Aren't we going to go stop him?!"

"No… We won't be able to stop him. He made a promise to the Colonel… There's nothing we can do…" Winry looked to the small round table beside her sofa. There was a small present on the table addressed to her. Winry grabbed it and ripped off the letter on top. It was from Edward. Winry read it slowly.

Dear Winry,

I'm sorry that I have to leave you and Al alone, but I have to go. I'm sorry that I lied to you. I wish that I could have talked to you more about this, but I had to leave this morning. No matter what you may think or say, I still love you and I always will. Please forgive me for hurting you. I'll try harder next time to confide in you about what's going on in my life. I just don't want you to worry.

This was supposed to be your anniversary present but I don't know if I'll be back to give this to you. Just think of this present as my earring to you. If you hold it close, it'll be like holding me. That being the case, I think that you would hold it everyday. Just take care of it for me. It is my most prized possession. It is the third thing that I hold dear, you and Al coming before it. Remember that I love you.

Love always,

Ed Elric

Winry read and read the letter over and over again. What did he mean by _as my earring to you_. Winry, starred down at the present. She slammed the letter down on the table and ripped open the present on her lap. In side was a beautiful silver pocket watch. It had an amazing design on it that everybody knew as the president's seal. Winry picked up. A long chain dangled from the button that opened the pocket watch. Around the edge of the watch read Edward Elric.

It was his! It was Edward's pocket watch! As Winry's fingers caressed the smooth cold surface of the watch, something erupted inside her. She jumped out off the sofa and ran out the door. Winry ran all the way out to the train station. She quickly found Edward, by looking in the windows of the only train there. He was sitting in the seat nearest the window, reading a newspaper on his lap. The train prepared to leave, so Winry didn't have enough time to get on the train.

"EDWARD", Winry screamed loud enough as she ran towards his window. Edward quickly looked up and starred at her. When his brain registered that it was Winry who had called him, Edward quickly stood up and opened the window, sticking his head out of the window. As he did this, the train began to move away from the train station. But despite this, Winry ran after it.

"Winry", Edward shouted. "Winry, what are you doing here?!"

"I came to say goodbye", shouted Winry. "Thanks for the present, Ed!!! I love it!!! But are you sure that you want to give to me?!!"

"Yeah!!! You gave me your favorite earring, didn't you?!!"

"Yeah!!!" Winry slowed down to a halt as the walkway under her came to a sudden halt. She waved goodbye to him.

"WINRY", Edward yelled as he waved back to her. "I SWEAR, I WILL BE BACK!!!! I LOVE YOU, WINRY!!!!" Winry dropped her hand to her chest, holding his pocket watch close to her heart.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

A few months had past since Winry last saw Edward. It was quite obvious that she had missed his presence. She worked slower on her auto-mail and house cleaning. Alphonse tried to cheer her up a bit, but nothing he did helped. He even helped clean and cook diner. What could be done? Alphonse may have been Edward's younger brother, but he would never be Edward. He could never replace Edward in Winry's eyes.

And what made being without Edward even worse was the fact that she hadn't told Edward that she loved him at the station. At the time she was still mad at him, but she felt guilty about not telling him. Winry promised herself that she would tell Edward that she was no longer mad at him and still loved him the next time she saw him.

Winry went to the train station everyday to see if Edward had returned. But he never did. The lady at the ticket booth was getting more and more worried about her. Winry would run to the station everyday in a panic and when she left, she would cry. The ticket lady one day decided to help Winry. She told Winry that she would call her as soon as Edward had returned. Winry nodded in agreement.

Since Winry had no need to go back to the train station, she would sit on the balcony by her room, watching the dirt road for Edward. Time seemed to have stopped for her ever since Edward left. And what if he never came back? What if she never saw him again? Or what if he had found another woman to love? Winry wouldn't know what to do. She couldn't live without him. She would die.

The pocket watch was all that Winry had left of Edward. She would carry it around with her everywhere she went. It made Winry feel like Edward was right beside her. But she never stopped to look at the watch. It was too painful for her.

Alphonse knew along that Edward had planned to give Winry the watch. He wasn't jealous or anything by the fact that Edward had given it to her, but it pained him not to see her enjoy the watch. Not to caress it's smooth surface or to open it and watch the time fly by. Alphonse asked her why she had not done these things to the last present she will probably ever receive from Edward.

"It's to painful", was her answer. "Every time I look at the watch, I see Ed's face. But I don't just want to see him. I want to touch him, to hold him, to have him hold me, to kiss him, to love him. The watch only stalls my need for him and yet, at the same time it makes it harder to live without him."

"Winry… Winry, Ed will be back. He swore he would-"

"Al", Winry snapped. "I know Ed will return! But that still doesn't change the fact that he's not here!" And with that Winry ran up to her room and began to cry. She didn't come out of the room for the rest of that day.

Winry never slept. She couldn't do this because she would dream about Edward and her together. It was too much to handle. So, Winry staid up all night, looking out the window to see if she could see Edward walking down the dirt road. But like when she watched for him form the balcony during the day, he never returned.

At night, when nobody was watching, she would tempt herself to take the pocket watch out and look at it. But every time Winry reached into her pocket, she would remember what it represented and then quickly pull her hand back out.

One morning, Winry had summoned enough courage to pull the watch out and look at it. When she opened her hand, Winry found the beautiful workmanship she had always loved. Winry rubbed a finger over the picture on top of the watch. She hadn't seen it in so long. Winry felt tears roll down her face as she stared down at Edward's most prized possession. Winry slowly brought the watch to her chest, desperately wishing that it were Edward she was holding.

As soon as the watch touched her, she had a bad feeling. A feeling much like the one she had when she gave Edward her earring, but it was worse. She felt like Edward wasn't going to come back. Her heart was also in pain. It was as if she was psychologically feeling the physical pain that Edward was feeling and enduring. Winry didn't know what to do.

Then the solution of her problem hit her like a ton of bricks. Winry had to go find Edward for herself. Waiting for him to return wasn't going to solve anything. Winry quickly got dressed and ran to Alphonse's room. "Al", shouted Winry as she burst through the door. "Alphonse!!! I have to go to the train station!!! I have to leave now!!!"

"What…" asked Alphonse as he slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"I need to leave!!!"

"Leave?!" This snapped Alphonse out of his morning fog. "But Winry, you can't leave!! Ed told me to protect you, and that's what I'm going to do!!"

"Then come with me, Al!! Either way, I'm going, with or without you!!"

"You're not going anywhere!! We're supposed to stay here!! We're supposed to wait for Ed!!"

"ALPHONSE ELRIC!!!!" Winry screamed. "YOU IDIOT!!! LOOK WHAT WAITING HAS GOTTEN US!!!! THE ONLY WAY TO EVER SEE EDWARD AGAIN IS TO GET HIM AND BRING HIM BACK HOME!!!! DON'T YOU SEE!!!! THAT'S WHAT I NEED TO DO!!!! IF YOU TRY TO STOP ME, I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!!! ED NEEDS ME!!!! AND HE NEEDS YOU!!!! HE NEEDS US TO PROTECT HIM JUST LIKE WE NEED HIM TO PROTECT US!!!!"

"Winry…"

Winry fell to her knees and began to cry into her hands. This was more then just something that she wanted. She had to go to him. Winry couldn't wait any longer. Alphonse had moved from the bed and kneeled down beside her. "Ok, Winry", he whispered. "We'll go get my brother. I guess I won't be breaking my promise if I go with you… Go get ready, Winry…"

Winry looked up at Alphonse. He had a kind smile on his face that told her that he was on the level. Winry jumped up and ran out of the. She ran back to her own room and packed her suitcase. When she was finished, Winry ran back to Alphonse's room, carrying her luggage behind her. Alphonse was getting dressed in the bathroom. She hurried and packed his luggage. When Alphonse walked into the room, Winry handed him his suitcase and walked passed him. The quickly ate their breakfast and ran out the door. They ran to the train station and boarded a train to Central half an hour later.


	11. Together Again

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA!!

Chapter Eleven

Together Again

Winry and Alphonse got to Central that afternoon. As soon as they got to the lobby of the train station, Winry turned to Alphonse and asked, "Do you know where they might have gone?" Alphonse brought a finger to his lip and thought for a minute.

"We could go to Central Headquarters and see if they are there, but I think we should check into a hotel first."

Winry nodded in agreement, but looked down at the ground in disappointment. She couldn't wait any longer. She had to see him. She had to know whether or not he was all right. Edward could be dead for all she knew and she was going to check into a comfortable hotel.

Alphonse pulled Winry to the nearest hotel and they quickly checked in. When they got to the room, they both threw their bags on the beds and ran out of the hotel as quickly as possible. They ran to Central Headquarters. They showed Edward's pocket watch to the guards, but they didn't seem to care. _They must be busy with what has been going on_", thought Winry. "_Or they just don't care._"

As soon as they entered the building, Winry let Alphonse take the lead. Alphonse led them up a few floors and took a quick right. He stopped right in front of a pair of wooden doors. Alphonse opened them and walked through. Winry silent followed him. When they walked through the door, everybody in the room stopped with what they were doing and looked up at them.

Roy, who was sitting behind his desk, and Riza, who was in front of Roy's desk, were among the people that looked up at them. Riza, who was the only one among the military who knew how deeply Winry loved Edward, approached them with a mournful look on her face. "Al, Winry. What are you two doing here", she asked.

"We came to see my brother", said Alphonse in a serious tone.

"And to take him home", Winry finished boldly.

Riza sighed. "I knew this was coming…" She turned to Roy, who had moved from behind his desk and towards Winry and Al.

"Listen you two", he started. "Ed has been- It's not easy to say this, but… We don't know were he is…"

Winry froze. '_We don't know where he is…_'_ What's that supposed to mean_", Winry screamed in her head. Tears began to build up in her eyes as her brain was beginning to process this piece of information. Winry couldn't believe it. She refused to believe it. Edward swore that he would be back.

"What do you mean that you don't know where my brother is", snapped Alphonse. "Have you even tried to look for him?! Have you sent out search parties, a missing person's report, anything?!"

"We have done everything we could", answered Riza calmly. "We are working on it as we speak-"

"Well, that's not good enough!!! We have to find him!!!"

Winry watched silently as Alphonse yelled out his protests, tears streaming down her cheeks. It was times like these that she hated to be right. Something had happened to Edward. She fell to her knees, holding herself in order to stop her from shaking fiercely. Riza walked over to her and kneeled down beside her. She began to rub Winry's back for comfort as Winry cried into her hands.

"Did you check the Homunculi's lair?!"

"Yes…" answered Roy. "He wasn't there…"

"Do you mind if I check it out", asked Alphonse while trying to calm down. "I have to see it for myself."

Roy thought for a minute and then nodded his head, telling Alphonse it was ok. "Do you know where to go, Al?"

"Yeah."

"What about Winry", asked Riza.

"I'm going to take her back to the hotel-"

"NO! I'm going with you!" Winry finally looked up at Alphonse as she stood up. "I have to go!"

"Winry it's too dangerous", snapped Alphonse as he looked back at her. "You'll be much safer-"

"I can't lose you too", snapped Winry. "And besides, you promised Edward to protect me! I'm going, no matter what you say!"

"But Winry…"

"Please Al… Please…"

Alphonse starred at Winry for a second and then sighed. Everyone in the room took this as a sign that he was giving into Winry's demand. "Do you want a car, Al", asked Roy from behind Alphonse. Alphonse shook his head.

"We'll get there by foot, Colonel", muttered Alphonse. Riza stood up and looked from Alphonse to Winry. "Let's go, Winry." He grabbed Winry's hand and walked out of the room. They heard Riza call out good luck to them. They ran out of the building ten minutes later and ran down the street. They turned left down another street and right down another. They went right again down an alleyway that was filled with garbage. Beyond the giant pile of trash, there was chain link fence. Beyond that was a dark tunnel. Alphonse and Winry shifted through all the trash to the fence.

Alphonse noticed that the lock on the chain link fence was gone. He pushed open that gate and pulled Winry inside. The entered the tunnel quietly. Twenty minutes of walking had passed and the discovered that they were in the sewers. There was a passageway that went left up ahead of them. Alphonse and Winry took it and walked on down the tunnel. The tunnel opened up into a big spacious room. The room was dimly lit and smelled of death.

The room was a complete wreck. There was ruble everywhere. There were shoulder bodies amongst the ruble. Winry gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. She couldn't believe that there were so many deaths. Alphonse ignored her and shifted through the ruble and bodies. Winry slowly followed him, being careful not to touch the bodies.

There was a dark tunnel in front of them. Alphonse went into the tunnel first. Winry lost sit of him in a second. "Al", she whispered. "Alphonse, where are you?" Alphonse came back after a few seconds of waiting. He looked at the ground and found a stick and then reached into his pocket and pulled out a box of matches. Alphonse pulled out a match and put the box back into his pocket after lighting the match. Alphonse picked up the stick he found and lit it on fire.

Alphonse turned to enter the tunnel and then looked back at Winry. "Come on Winry", he muttered. "Thought that you wanted to find Ed."

"I do", said Winry. She followed Alphonse into the dark tunnel. She clung to his shirt for protection. There were small rooms on either side of the tunnel. Bars closed them all off. "Is this a dungeon", asked Winry.

"Yeah", said Alphonse. "Why would the homunculus need a dungeon though? They didn't take prisoners-"

Alphonse was cut off by a muffled yell. Alphonse looked back at Winry with raised eyebrows. Winry nodded, understanding what this could mean. That muffled yell could have come from Edward. They began to move down the tunnel at a faster pace. Winry looked in every cell to see if anyone was in them.

They had finally reached the end of the tunnel. The cell to their left was empty. But when they looked to their right, that's when they saw the person who had made the muffled yell. The person was hanging up side down from the ceiling, his hands in bound together and hung over his head, and his head was covered by a cloth bag. Alphonse ran over to the bars, clapped his hands, and rested them against the bars. The door opened when the flash of light vanished.

Winry rushed in and ran to the person hanging up side down. The boy heard her footsteps as she came closer and started to spin around frantically. "Whose there", he asked loudly. It was him! It was Edward! Winry knew it! It was his voice! It had to be! Winry stopped an inch away from the boy. Her head came up to his. Winry raised her hands and grabbed the bag and started to roll it up. "Wait-"

Winry stopped when his lips were completely showing. Winry leaned in and kissed him. They began to kiss passionately. Winry was so happy to finally feel his lips, his tongue, to inhale the unique smell that she knew was him. She suddenly stopped kissing him passionately and held her lips against his. "I love you, Edward Elric", she whispered, her lips moving against his as she spoke.

"Winry…" whispered Edward as his lips did the same to Winry's. "How did you get here? You're supposed to be back home-"

"Winry got a bad feeling that something bad had happened to you, Brother", said Alphonse. Winry slowly moved away to let Alphonse get Edward down. "She insisted to go and dragged me along. I'm as much as a hostage as you were, Ed."

"Al", said Edward. Alphonse moved toward the rope that was tied to the wall and kept Edward in the air.

"Hang on Ed", he said. "I'm going to get you down." Alphonse quickly transmuted the rope and Edward dropped. Winry quickly caught Edward and held him in her arms. She took off the bag and threw it across the room. The sight of Edward's face brought tears to her eyes. Even though he had a small bruise circling his left eye and a few cuts on his face, Edward was still a sight for sore eyes. The tears streamed out of her eyes and down her face.

Edward noticed this and lifted his hand to her cheek and made her look at him. "What's wrong, Winry", Edward asked. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm just so happy to see you again, Ed", cried Winry. "I was so worried about you. But what bothered me the most was the fact that I never told you that I loved you when you left. You must have thought that I hated you."

"Never", said Edward while trying to sit up. "I could never truly think that." He leaned and lightly kissed Winry. "I love you too much."

"Ed…"

"As much as I'd hate to break up this romantic moment, but we really should get out of here", Alphonse interrupted. "I think we should treat your wounds, Brother."

Winry nodded. Winry and Alphonse both helped Edward up and out of the cell. They helped him out of the lair and to the hospital. Alphonse called the Headquarters and told everyone that they had found Edward. After the doctor had treated him, Alphonse and Winry took him to the hotel. Alphonse got another room for himself and Winry watched Edward as he slept. He had a twisted ankle, but he was over all alright, just tired.

Winry was glad to have Edward back. When Edward woke up for dinner she apologized for the way she acted the night before he left. Edward just laughed and said that he shouldn't have lied to her. Then he said sorry for being awful to her. Winry thought back about what he said to her in their bedroom all those weeks ago. Winry didn't talk until they had both eaten dinner. She kept thinking of away tell him wrong.

When it was time for them to go to bed, Winry said that she wanted to be with Edward. Edward just shook his head as he sat in his bed and said, "Winry, I can't be with you." Winry froze when she heard this.

"What?! But why?!"

"Because I hurt you, and made you worry. Al told me everything. You haven't slept once since I left, have you, Winry?"

"No, but that wasn't your fault! I made that decision on my own, Ed!"

"Yeah, but you made it because of my absence. I love you to much to hurt you like that."

"You idiot! You'll only be hurting me worse!" She ran up to him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Edward looked away as she cried. "Keeping yourself away from me will only make things worse!"

Edward looked back at her with a look of regret on his face. "I have forgiven you, Ed", Winry muttered. "It's over and done with… Please… Don't do this…"

"You're only saying this to make me feel better. Don't lie to me. It's ok if you're still mad at me."

"I'm telling the truth!"

"Then kiss me!" Edward hissed.

"What?!"

"Kiss me if you truly have forgiven me." Edward closed his eyes and braced himself for what he thought that was the truth. Winry hesitated and then closed her eyes. She moved closer to him, stopped for a second, and then quickly pressed her lips against his. Winry opened her eyes quickly to find Edward starring down at her with surprise. Winry moved away.

"Thought you'd stump me with that one, did you", she whispered. "I love you no matter what Ed. Besides, you're only human. You're bound to make mistakes here and there."

"Winry… I'm sorry", muttered Edward. He grabbed her shoulders and moved away her from him. "But I still haven't forgiven myself. I doubt that I ever will for putting you through all that crap. Just like I said right, I turned out just like my dad. Well, I'm going to make sure that I never hurt you again."

Winry screamed and fell to floor crying. Edward was breaking her heart and didn't even realize it. Winry began to shake fiercely, so she held herself. Winry looked up at him. Edward was looking in away from her, tears falling his face. That's when Winry realized that he was hurting to. Winry let herself go and moved towards the bed. When she got to the bed, Winry grabbed his arm and wrapped her arms it tightly. Edward made a sudden movement, but did not try to escape.

"Ed, I need you", Winry whispered. "We need each other… If you left like before, I would always wait for you… But if you left saying that we could never be together, then I would die. I would die inside. I wouldn't know how to live on without you now that I have you. I'm addicted to being around you Ed. It's intoxicating. But I don't care, because it's what makes me happy and I know that you feel the same way about me, Ed. I know you do. Why else would you be crying?"

"Winry, please… just go trade rooms with Al", Edward mutter.

"YOU'RE BREAKING MY HEART ED", screamed Winry. Winry looked up at Edward. His eyes were wide open, tears still streaming out of them. "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!!! WE'RE BETTER OFF BEING TOGETHER THEN SEPERATED!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!! I NEED YOU IN MY LIFE!!!! I NEED YOU MORE ANOTHING IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!! PLEASE, DON'T LEAVE ME!!!! DON'T LEAVE ME!!!! EDDDD!!!!"

Winry cried and cried into Edward's arm. She began to hiccup when she finally calmed down all the while repeating what she had said. "Please… don't leave me… Don't …leave me… Ed…"

Winry was too afraid to look back up at Edward. She was afraid to see that his face was still cold and expressionless. But soon, Winry felt a hand grab the tie in her hair and gently pull it out. After a few more second seconds, the hand returned and began the stroke through Winry's hair. The thought of Edward doing this to her made Winry's spine tingle. And then Winry heard Edward's voice again.

"I hate it when you do this to me Winry", he whispered. "You are always trying to prove me wrong for some reason or another. Sometimes it makes me feel worse, other times it makes me feel better. Fortunately for you, this is one of those times. I need you too. If you hadn't said that and I had left you, I would probably die too. This is why I didn't want to fall in love in the first place. I don't understand the first thing about love. All I know is that people don't think rationally when they're in love, much like what I was doing before."

"I love you more then anything, Winry. I really do! You mean everything to me! But I don't know if I can live like this! If I can't think rationally, then I'll be just as lost as when I'm without you! I'm useless to you either way! I just don't stand how a sweet and innocent person like you can ever love a jerk like me! Crap, Winry! What did you to me?! Why did you have to fall in love with me and cause yourself so much pain?! Why can't just go out and find a better man?! Why?! Why?!"

"I don't know why, Ed", muttered Winry. "How can I possibly give you the reason why people ever fall in love? They just do… And you're probably right, there might be a better man out there for me, Ed. But trust me when I say that you are the one. You're one I want to sleep with, and to eat with, and talk about our problems with, and I want to be with you forever! I want to marry you and have kids and teach them right from wrong together! I want to make it through the happy times and rough times with you! I know that you are the one Ed! I can't tell you why, but I just know it!"

"Winry… I wish there was a way for me to… I don't know…" Winry looked up at him. He looked down at her. "… I just don't know… When I'm around you, I stop looking at things in a scientific way and start looking at things the way everybody else see them… I can't think that way… I'm not the supposed to feel that way… I have to… I don't even know what I'm saying…" Winry leaned towards him and kissed him lightly.

"Like you said, Ed", she whispered. "People do crazy things when they're in love."

"Winry… Are you sure that I'm the one?"

"If I wasn't, would I be here?"

Edward looked away from Winry in order to think. "I still don't know how I could be the one for you, but I'm glad that you chose me and not somebody else." Edward looked back at Winry. He leaned in and said, "I love you, Winry" before kissing her lightly on the lips. Winry took this as a sign to get in bed and getting some much-needed sleep, but not before saying _I love you too_.


End file.
